Truth catching up with Aquino over massacre

After four days of hearings in the Senate and the House of Representatives, and despite his minions’ shameful attempts at a massive cover-up, the truth about President Benigno S. Aquino’s culpability for the massacre of 44 Special Action Forcec (SAF) commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, is unraveling.

Both former police chief Alan Purisima and SAF Director Getulio Napeñas testified that Aquino had been privy to the operation from its very inception back in April last year. The two even reported that Aquino was last briefed on Jan 9 at his residence, Bahay Pangarap, in Malacañang. Even Aquino, in his speech Jan 28, implied he gave the operation the go-signal, but not the exact date it would be undertaken.

Aquino prepositioned himself Jan 25 in Zamboanga City, on the pretext of raising its residents’ and officials’ morale after a car bombing two days earlier. That was close enough to Cotabato City so he could fly there immediately to congratulate the commandos for their mission in capturing the terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir aka Marwan, and even to view his corpse, a photo-op that would be in newspapers all over the planet. (The Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Mindanao bureau reported in its web edition Feb 8 that city officials were informed of Aquino’s visit just a day before Jan 25, while Malacanang officials were in Cotabato City in the afternoon of that day preparing for the President’s visit.)

With him in Zamboanga were practically his entire security team: Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. Even the commander of the Western Mindanao Unified Command, Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, was there.

In the hearing yesterday, all of them claimed they had not informed Aquino of the clash between the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) SAF and guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that started in the wee hours of the morning.

They all claimed that they, indeed, received reports of the event at midmorning but felt that they didn’t need to inform the President about it. There was no sense of urgency in the reports, Gazmin, Roxas and Catapang all said.

Purisima: “I need to ask the President’s permission to tell the truth.”

It was only at 5 p.m., which meant hours after the trapped 44 commandos had been killed, helpless since they ran out of bullets, that Aquino met with them (the top officials) in a room at Edwin Andrews Air Base to be briefed. No one among them could even say who was the first person to inform the President that the SAF policemen were trapped and have likely been killed.

Best effort
WestMin commander Guerrero’s text messages to 6th Infantry Division Commander Gen. Eduardo Pangilinan seemed surreal, not just because of the time it was dispatched – 6 p.m. – which was hours after the massacre.

His message to Pangilinan was: “Best effort without endangering our reinforcement troops, per guidance from President. Ensure no friendly fires since it is nighttime. If we can resupply them with ammo and food, how?”

Imagine this: Your family is hostaged by a crazed armed group, and you rush to the nearest police precinct and ask for urgent help from the commander. He turns to his deputy and says: “Go to the house and rescue them. Best effort without endangering our policemen.” Do you think the police will rush to rescue your family?

Why would Guerrero, a three-star general, have to invoke the Commander-in-Chief’s authority in an order to his subordinate Pangilinan when he texted “per guidance from President?”

Because the general himself wondered why the order wasn’t to mobilize all troops necessary to rescue the SAF troops, and had to explain it was the President’s “guidance.”

If Roxas, Gazmin and Catapang told the truth that they didn’t bother to tell the President in the morning about the unraveling massacre, they should be fired – even charged for criminal negligence.

Roxas was told at about 6 a.m. by PNP Officer-in-Charge Leonardo Espina of the operation to capture an international terrorist in MILF territory. And he didn’t think this was an important piece of information to tell the President, especially since he knew very well that this could endanger the passage of the Bangsamoro law, which his boss wanted passed ASAP?

Gazmin said he got the information at about 10 a.m., but echoed Roxas’ excuse that they had been receiving “continuous” reports of, in Roxas words, “encounters here, encounters there.”

They were either lying or totally incompetent to be given such powerful jobs over our security forces. When was the last time there was a SAF-MILF firefight? Never.

When was the last firefight between any of our military forces and the MILF? More than three years ago, when a combined MILF and Abu Sayyaf guerrillas massacred 19 Army Special Forces troops.

No excuse
Gazmin just doesn’t have any excuse not to have informed the President about the impending massacre. Zamboanga City is just six hours to Mamasapano along the Pan Philippine Highway. I know for a fact that it is standard procedure for the Philippine President to be evacuated immediately from Mindanao as soon as any armed conflict erupts in the region. This is a security protocol since the armed clash could mean a diversion, or even a region-wide campaign, to attack the Commander-in-Chief, who could be trapped in the Mindanao area if the airport were sabotaged. Immediately as they couldn’t afford to wait: None of the Air Force planes and helicopters were capable of flying at night.

Didn’t Gazmin who is the ultimate commander of the Presidential Security Group think the President should be informed of a military clash not too far from Zamboanga, and advise him to leave for Manila immediately?

The reason why Mar Roxas and Catapang pretended nothing was happening in Mamasapano, and had relaxed at lunch and merienda with Aquino, and accompanied him in his chit-chat with local officials was this:

After being informed about Mamasapano at midmorning, their staff briefed them that it was Purisima’s operation, and that Aquino had given the go-signal for the operation.

“Ganoon ba? ” was the reply of both Gazmin and Roxas when told about this. They both spent the whole day debating with themselves whether to tell Aquino or not, whether to risk a bawling: “Boss, yung operasyon niyo ni Purisima, palpak, and daming patay.” (The Inquirer in the same article reported that Aquino arrived in Zamboanga City at 10 a.m. in a visibly foul mood.)

In yesterday’s hearing, both Senators Nancy Binay and Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. asked Purisima a straight question: “After the operation was launched early morning, did you inform the President about it, and did you keep him informed as it unfolded?”

With the grimmest of faces, Purisima replied: “I would have to ask the President for permission to tell you.”

That request in itself was an admission that he did report to Aquino on the operation from start to finish. Even Aquino, in fact, in his short press conference Jan 28 said: “Early in the morning I was already told about the results of the Marwan operation, and while we were inspecting the site of the Zamboanga bombing, the reports were coming in.” Obviously it was Purisima who was reporting to him.

But all this information was for naught. The Commander-in-Chief froze, and even afraid to ask advice from Roxas, Gazmin and Catapang what’s to be done to save the 44 commandos, while the Army merely pretended to rescue the SAF commandos.

Or maybe Aquino thought it was just a game, that when the screen flashed “Game Over!” he could just reload it.

54 Comments

We, the Filipino people deserve a better government. Let us go out on Feb. 22 and demand for the immediate resignation of Aquino, Binay and the entire corrupt and incompetent government under the leadership of Aquino who do not even qualify for barangay captain. Aquino is endangering the entire nation it is time for the people to take action and oust him now.

Code 1 has been informed from the beginning…he admitted that during his speech in the necrological service of SAF 44…he was the one who ordered Stand Down thats why the more than 300 SAF didnt went inside and 6ID only come n the late afternoon….magsisinungaling na nga lng sila halatado pa

It would be fool hardy to lie that you do not know the event when all a while there were just 4 of you who were present when the planned operation was being brief to the President.

The President was brief of the impending operation, it’s but natural that he will be notified right before it starts. Cover up is not acceptable considering that he is the Commander in Chief, the President of our Republic.

Inu-Unggoy Kayo/Tayo nang mga Traydor na mga Iyan nang Mamayan’g Bayan.
Que se hoda’ng Pawang Kasinungalingan ang ihahapag nang Malakanyang – at Tuwiran’g Kasinungalingan din ang ipinangangalandakan nang mga Bayarang TAGAPAG-SINUNGALINGna mga Press Spokesmen – these paid hacks can not even suppressed the truth unfolding in their VERY EYES!!! The moment this president opens his mouth and start mumbling words he himself understands aside from the teleprompter screen where he picks up all these mumbo jambos of LIES – well what else can we say? YOU CATCH A FISH BY ITS MOUTH. And the moment Simeon da3rd opens his mouth with that familiar wry smirk of a smile – as if he is trying make a fool of you with evasive answers – what does that make of him?
A habitual blame game liar? That , for me is his LEGACY.

We have acommander in chief who gloats on accolades and honors. He does not know his job, neither the meaning of the word responsibility alas this is not a video game that he can press the restart button. The fallen 44 were deserted in the hour of need by the republic who’s president prioritized the Bangsa Moro Law and the peace process / hopes of the Nobel Peace Price…over their lives. Where on earth can you find such a leader, and how can he command the respect and loyalty of his soldiers and the respect of his countrymen.

From all the misfortunes, and failures that the Filipino people have to endure these five years under this callous president, there is only one lesson we can get. To elect an insane, mentally retarded person in the highest office of the land is detrimental to peace, prosperity and progress that we are aiming for. His insanity hampers him to decide correctly in critical situations. Look what he did in Yolanda, in luneta massacre, in the illegal DAP, in the appointment of his friends in sensitive positions which they are not qualified, shows only that this man in malacanang is unfit to occupy the highest position of the land.

Pnoy and Mar Roxas should know by now that there no proper of correct way of lying. The time line is what the battery of lawyers led by Vitaliano Aguirre failed to see. Aguirre is probably not aware of the speech of Pnoy at Camp Bagong Diwa or forgot to take it in consideration. I wonder how Pnoy can escape culpability on this cover up mess. Only 3 political figure can save Pnoy. Enrile, GMA and Binay but they will no longer be on his side with the amount of dirt he threw to the three. The most graceful exit for Pnoy is resign soon or he will be in the shoes of Corona when the latter was impeach. A coup will be very devastating for Pnoy and his family.

All the president’s men from Roxas, Gazmin, Catapang and Purisima think that we, the general public, are all idiots and dumb-wits not to see that they are all lying through their teeth. Purisima and Napeñas testified that Aquino had been privy to the operation as early as April last year. The two even reported they briefed Aquino on Jan 9 at the Bahay Pangarap in Malacañang, after which Purisima then instructed Napeñas to keep Roxas and Espina out of the loop. Without any doubt, this was going to be a high-priority project considering that it did merit the attention of no less than the president and commander-in-chief himself.

When that “BINGO”, (meaning – Mission Accomplished) text message was sent by the head of the operating unit early that Sunday morning, it would be unthinkable for Napeñas not to have immediately informed Purisima and subsequently Pinoy about it. Even before Pinoy took off for Zamboanga that morning, one can logically conclude that he already knew about the outcome of that operation.

As the saying goes, even the best laid plans can go awry. The operating unit got boxed-in by the MILF and BIFF, and when they started desperately asking for reinforcement, it would be unbelievable for Pinoy not to have been informed early on. I can only surmise that Pinoy got caught in a bind – “to call or not to call” in the reinforcements as the on-going peace process was still foremost in his mind. He found himself in a stupor of indecisiveness until after five in the afternoon of that tragic Sunday when Pangilinan’s text message was sent stating: “Best effort without endangering our reinforcement troops, per guidance from President. Ensure no friendly fires since it is nighttime. If we can resupply them with ammo and food, how?”

It was too late in the game then and had Pinoy acted like a true commander-in-chief, he could have saved the lives of majority, if not all, of the fallen 44 SAF members. How tragic!

We fought to oust marcos to give justice to the father, then the mother ruled and she put all her relatives in power, giving them what they wanted to include her own hacienda luisita. Then the son came along and he is worst than the president we ousted to put his mother to power! What a chain of events! It seems that the father was he only better person in the family who is turning in his grave as we speak.

Unfortunately, the heavy chain of events are hanging on the neck of Filipinos, inclusive of those who did not vote for the mother and for the son. Those who voted them into office, can feel foolish, even stupid for having put them into office. But those of us who did not vote for them, feel as if we are being punished for something we did not even do.

Since the ousting of Marcos, the real evil have been ruling the country. What did Marcos steal, gold? Why is it that there’s no proof? It was merely accusation installed repeatedly by ABS-CBN to brainwash the have no idea population.

It appears that no matter how many chances Roxas gets to redeem himself, he fails to come out on top. He cannot even lie properly and convincingly. I don’t know why he cannot leave Aquino’s camp when it is very obvious that Aquino does not have any love left for him.
This BS of “I’m getting reports of clashes between our forces and the rebels here and there is a good reason why BBL should be junked. If the MILF cannot, does not, exert any effort in keeping the cease fire agreement, it is obvious that they are not sincere and honest in their negotiating peace in Mindanao. We’ve wasted enough resources and most importantly precious lives to appease a small group of Muslims who do not care about their fellow Muslims to begin with. Enough is enough.

Reading between the lines, evolving and difffering accounts, it seems the
“best efforts” was for the 84th SAF commando group which had the “FINGER”
SO SUPPORT WAS ONLY FOR THIS GROUP.
As far as the 55th SAF group was concerned,ti was “Negative,Negative,Stand down”!

Your last sentence tragically captures and explains this Mamasapanot fiasco. To BS Pinoy, it was all a game, a preoccupation which explains why his governance has gone down the drain. Were it not for the competence and financial savvy of his economic team – CB’s Tetangco, Finance’s Purisima, NEDA’s Balisacan, and Trade and Industry’s Domingo – and if BS Pinoy has taken an overweening interest on economic matters, his major field of study at the Ateneo, then this only redeeming bright star in BS Pinoy’s firmament – the economy – would likewise has been blighted . The Philippines and BS Pinoy himself are lucky in that BS Pinoy’s childish fetish has been consumed by military and security- related issues where his much – touted shooting prowess can be given vicarious realization. It has now been revealed after four congressional hearings that BS Pinoy , from the very start , knew all along the tragic drama that was unfolding in nearby Maguindanao while he was in Zamboanga ostensibly to personally look into the city’s bombing that occurred two days earlier! Despite the heroic , albeit futile, efforts by the All the President’s Men – Roxas, Gazmin, Catapang, Guerrero , etc .- to cover up for BS Pinoy in yesterday ‘s hearing by non – admission by anyone of them of having told BS Pinoy of the tragedy in Mamasapanot until five in the afternoon of 25 January, their attempts at concealment became a farce. As is typical in this student -government -like governance of BS Pinoy, All the President’s Men overlooked the fact that much earlier, their principal – BS Pinoy – on 28 January admitted on nationwide television that HE KNEW OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN MAMASAPANOT AS EARLY AS IN THE MORNING OF 25 JANUARY! This turn of events would have been comic were it not for the deaths of 44 SAF troopers, 18 MILF REBELS and 3 civilians.

A very apt name for that botched operation, MAMASAPANOT. After all, this was an operation authored by a cowardly commander-in-chief, who cannot admit his role, confirm the orders he issued, and accept his culpability for the death of the 44.
I have nothing good to say about Roxas, and since I would be using curses and four letter words for his consistent role as lap dog, I choose to keep quiet, short of saying “may his career never take off”.

The blame for having an incompetent President in our midst ultimately rests in the electorate. We voted the wrong Cojuangco-Aquino. As Commander-in-Chief, Gibo Cojuangco would have been ideally suited to command troops in crisis situations like the Mamasapano given his education and training.

Guys dont get distracted from the people whose at fault for the the deaths of those 44 policemen. It isnt directly down to aquino, he can be held accountable later on for his wrong doings but those directly responsible for what happened are the ones who we should be focusing on first. Get them sorted & punished accordingly first.

Tiaglo i agree with you pnoy probably knew of the operation lets say jan 9 & that it would take place on the date it took place. But he wont have been given all the tactical details & he wouldnt know how to advise them on how many troops should be deployed here or there. All that is down to the person or people running the operation. It is all because of their incompetence that led to those 44 deaths. I have no idea what they were thinking about but it certainly was never the safety of those troopers, they were left high & dry, & someone should go to jail because of that.

The CBCP, the FSGO, the Makati Business Club, the PCCI, ECOP and the other chambers of commerce must all demand that Bull Shitter Aquino tell the complete truth to the people.
All the Catholilc, IFI-Aglipayan parish priests and Episcopalian and other Protestant ministers must now also make that demand this Sunday.
And all of us Filipinos who pray must implore God to save us from this LIAR who now occupies the presidential seat illegally thanks to the demonic Smartmatic-PCOS machines.
This is not a FRENZIED call. It is a sober call from someone who asks our Lord about the correctness of his intentions constantly.

I am not a fan of this incompetent and idiot President, but i see no wrong when he instructed Gen. Guerrero to exert “best effort” in rescuing the 84th SAF in Mamasapano. Pinoy has already admitted his culpability of the Mamasapano massacre but Pnoy’s critics, including Mr. Tiglao, simply want him to resign so that their idol, the perceived corrupt VP Binay (and rightly so), will take over as President of the Philippines.

Some US Presidents bungled military operations under their direct orders which resulted in the massacre of US soldiers namely: John F. Kennedy in the Bay of pigs operation in Cuba, Jimmy Carter in the aborted american hostage rescue in Iran and Bill Clinton in what was turned into a movie, “Black Hawk Down”. But none of them were forced to resign.

These Generals are suppose to be the protector of the people but clearly they are all protecting each other and the NUMBER ONE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, BS AQUINO, the number one violator of the Constitution. Sayang ang pera ng taong bayan na ginastos para sa kanilang pag-aaral sa PMA. Obviously, the people can not get protection from them against an unlawful person who is right on their midst!

Tumpak! He thought he was at the Play Station! Please tell those shameless liars in Government that if they pursue with the cover up, the blood of those valiant dead men will also be on their hands! They are no different from the cold blooded, hard hearted murderers!

Surely, simyon was informed and he went again to his usual verbal harangue and megalomanic shouting of which people in Malacañang already knew. This idiot has the habit of continuous shouting when along when faced with a situation that he perceives to be outside his competence and comprehension – similar to a childish mind who was not given his chocolate bar. That alone should be reason enough for impeachment – a mentally unstable mind. Indeed, those guys have to wait until the vocal cords may have been strained so much that it has stopped. By that time, the massare was done. Now, they have to cover up for the guy. Isn’t it about time for Catapang to live up to his name? We can never expect Mr. Voltaire to say anything substantial because his name alone suggests his mental capacity – pure gas.

Hahahahaha palusot lang yan nina Roxas. All of them (Roxas, Gazmin & Catapang) including the President are receiving the same information from the same source at the same time. They all knew all along that its the President operation & they were there as “miron or taga palakpak kung saka sakali”.